Chapter 2 ~ Friend. . . or Not?
The Sorting Hat sang a long, cheery song about houses and how it would sort them into each. Rhi didn't pay too much attention; she was still eyeing Derek and Stephanie. Professor McGonagall began to call names off the list in alphabetical order.
"Nancy Avalon."
A tall, skinny girl with light hair and a lot of freckles stepped up to a black stool with a tattered old hat. Looking apprehensive, she put it on and sat down. After a few moments, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Nancy, looking rather relieved, stood up, took off the hat, and went to the table decorated in gold and scarlet.
"Vincent Cranchez."
A chestnut-haired boy, with a sweep of his robes, followed in suit. The hat had barely even touched his forehead before it bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!" Looking pleased, he stood up and strutted over to the Green and Silver table.
"Stephanie Crawfell."
Pursing her lips, she put the hat on her head, and it seemed to take an eternity for it to decide where to put her. "HUFFLEPUFF!" it finally decided. She made her way to the yellow and black table.
"Katelyn Dameson."
A skinny, blonde girl moved forward, looking perfectly at ease. The hat took a minute, before deciding, "RAVENCLAW!"
It went on like that for a while, until the line began to dwindle, and only a few were left, including she and Derek.
"Samuel Terrence."
The boy she had ridden in the boat with took a deep breath, put the hat on, and closed his eyes. The hat thought for a moment, and then shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" With a smile, he trotted over to his table and sat down.
"Derek Thomson."
With a gaze Rhi was unable to read, he shoved the hat low over his head. Only a second passed, before it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Grinning widely, he took off the hat and went over to join Stephanie.
"Rhiayla Venn."
Biting her lip, Rhi stepped forward and put the hat on her head. Please, please, please put me in Hufflepuff, she though to herself. "Hufflepuff, eh?" A voice whispered in her ear. "But you're not a Hufflepuff at all!"
Not a Hufflepuff? Rhi thought. But Stephanie and Derek are in Hufflepuff!
"That doesn't matter. Where you go is decided by the kind of person you are. Believe me, you aren't a Hufflepuff. A Gryffindor, most certainly, or a Ravenclaw. . ."
But. . .
"Dear, I could put you in Hufflepuff, but you would find soon enough that you wished you weren't. You may not believe me now, but I'm doing you a favor. So, which would you prefer, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw?"
Oh, please just put me where my friends are!
"Very, well. Then it'll have to be. . . RAVENCLAW!"
Feeling very disappointed, she reluctantly took off the hat, and trudged over to the blue and gray table. She sat down next to Samuel, and put her chin in her hands as the last two people in line were sorted. Then a man with a long gray beard stood up, raised his hands and said, "I have one word for you all. . . Fudgemuffin!" And with that, he clapped his hands and sat down.
Quite suddenly, the table was lined with heaping bowls and trays; despite Rhi's drooping spirits, she felt better at the sight of food. She pulled her dark brown hair out of her eyes, and filled her plate. As she was biting into a leg of baked chicken, Samuel turned to her. "So your name's Rhiayla?"
She scarfed what was in her mouth down. "Yeah. But I prefer Rhi."
He smiled. "That's a cool name. I'm Sam. Well, Samuel actually, but it sounds too stiff."
The blond girl who was sitting across from them grinned. "Nobody uses their full name any more. I'm Katelyn; call me Katie."
As Rhi filled her stomach, the three of them went on chatting. Soon another first-year named Zoey joined in. He had black hair and a wide smile. There were some pretty nice people in Ravenclaw, and she was relieved, but she sill felt very resentful that she hadn't gotten into Hufflepuff. A glance at Stephanie and Derek, however, told her that they didn't particularly care at all. They were laughing and joking and not paying Rhi the slightest bit of attention. Well, fine, if they're going to be like that. Rhi thought a bit angrily to herself. Who cares about them anyway?
So she turned her attention to her new friends around her, and soon they knew quite a bit about one another.
"My brother is in Gryffindor." Zoey said. "He's a fourth-year, and he told me a lot about the school. The ceiling is bewitched, to look like it is outside. And Slytherin turns out all the dark wizards and witches. There are secret corridors, and they change all the time, and the staircases move so you can never get where you're going."
"Yeah, my sisters are both in Ravenclaw," Sam said. "Alia is a third-year, and Cassie is a seventh-year. They love to tell me about Hogwarts. Did you know they have hundreds of house-elves in the kitchen, and they give you as much food as you want, and all you have to do is ask?"
The four of them chatted for a while, eating until they couldn't eat any more, and then had dessert on top of that. Finally, when they felt their bellies would explode, the tables were cleared, and the gray-bearded wizard stood up again. He was Dumbledore, the headmaster.
"All right, everyone, the prefects in your houses will guide you all up to your dormitories. Don't forget your passwords. Tomorrow at breakfast you will receive your schedules, and will attend your classes. Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Well, everyone have a good night's sleep, and I leave you with two words: Ziggory Zum!" With that, he turned and strode out of the room.
Rhi and her three new friends all turned and followed the rest of their house out of the main hall.
The Sorting Hat sang a long, cheery song about houses and how it would sort them into each. Rhi didn't pay too much attention; she was still eyeing Derek and Stephanie. Professor McGonagall began to call names off the list in alphabetical order.
"Nancy Avalon."
A tall, skinny girl with light hair and a lot of freckles stepped up to a black stool with a tattered old hat. Looking apprehensive, she put it on and sat down. After a few moments, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Nancy, looking rather relieved, stood up, took off the hat, and went to the table decorated in gold and scarlet.
"Vincent Cranchez."
A chestnut-haired boy, with a sweep of his robes, followed in suit. The hat had barely even touched his forehead before it bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!" Looking pleased, he stood up and strutted over to the Green and Silver table.
"Stephanie Crawfell."
Pursing her lips, she put the hat on her head, and it seemed to take an eternity for it to decide where to put her. "HUFFLEPUFF!" it finally decided. She made her way to the yellow and black table.
"Katelyn Dameson."
A skinny, blonde girl moved forward, looking perfectly at ease. The hat took a minute, before deciding, "RAVENCLAW!"
It went on like that for a while, until the line began to dwindle, and only a few were left, including she and Derek.
"Samuel Terrence."
The boy she had ridden in the boat with took a deep breath, put the hat on, and closed his eyes. The hat thought for a moment, and then shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" With a smile, he trotted over to his table and sat down.
"Derek Thomson."
With a gaze Rhi was unable to read, he shoved the hat low over his head. Only a second passed, before it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Grinning widely, he took off the hat and went over to join Stephanie.
"Rhiayla Venn."
Biting her lip, Rhi stepped forward and put the hat on her head. Please, please, please put me in Hufflepuff, she though to herself. "Hufflepuff, eh?" A voice whispered in her ear. "But you're not a Hufflepuff at all!"
Not a Hufflepuff? Rhi thought. But Stephanie and Derek are in Hufflepuff!
"That doesn't matter. Where you go is decided by the kind of person you are. Believe me, you aren't a Hufflepuff. A Gryffindor, most certainly, or a Ravenclaw. . ."
But. . .
"Dear, I could put you in Hufflepuff, but you would find soon enough that you wished you weren't. You may not believe me now, but I'm doing you a favor. So, which would you prefer, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw?"
Oh, please just put me where my friends are!
"Very, well. Then it'll have to be. . . RAVENCLAW!"
Feeling very disappointed, she reluctantly took off the hat, and trudged over to the blue and gray table. She sat down next to Samuel, and put her chin in her hands as the last two people in line were sorted. Then a man with a long gray beard stood up, raised his hands and said, "I have one word for you all. . . Fudgemuffin!" And with that, he clapped his hands and sat down.
Quite suddenly, the table was lined with heaping bowls and trays; despite Rhi's drooping spirits, she felt better at the sight of food. She pulled her dark brown hair out of her eyes, and filled her plate. As she was biting into a leg of baked chicken, Samuel turned to her. "So your name's Rhiayla?"
She scarfed what was in her mouth down. "Yeah. But I prefer Rhi."
He smiled. "That's a cool name. I'm Sam. Well, Samuel actually, but it sounds too stiff."
The blond girl who was sitting across from them grinned. "Nobody uses their full name any more. I'm Katelyn; call me Katie."
As Rhi filled her stomach, the three of them went on chatting. Soon another first-year named Zoey joined in. He had black hair and a wide smile. There were some pretty nice people in Ravenclaw, and she was relieved, but she sill felt very resentful that she hadn't gotten into Hufflepuff. A glance at Stephanie and Derek, however, told her that they didn't particularly care at all. They were laughing and joking and not paying Rhi the slightest bit of attention. Well, fine, if they're going to be like that. Rhi thought a bit angrily to herself. Who cares about them anyway?
So she turned her attention to her new friends around her, and soon they knew quite a bit about one another.
"My brother is in Gryffindor." Zoey said. "He's a fourth-year, and he told me a lot about the school. The ceiling is bewitched, to look like it is outside. And Slytherin turns out all the dark wizards and witches. There are secret corridors, and they change all the time, and the staircases move so you can never get where you're going."
"Yeah, my sisters are both in Ravenclaw," Sam said. "Alia is a third-year, and Cassie is a seventh-year. They love to tell me about Hogwarts. Did you know they have hundreds of house-elves in the kitchen, and they give you as much food as you want, and all you have to do is ask?"
The four of them chatted for a while, eating until they couldn't eat any more, and then had dessert on top of that. Finally, when they felt their bellies would explode, the tables were cleared, and the gray-bearded wizard stood up again. He was Dumbledore, the headmaster.
"All right, everyone, the prefects in your houses will guide you all up to your dormitories. Don't forget your passwords. Tomorrow at breakfast you will receive your schedules, and will attend your classes. Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Well, everyone have a good night's sleep, and I leave you with two words: Ziggory Zum!" With that, he turned and strode out of the room.
Rhi and her three new friends all turned and followed the rest of their house out of the main hall.